Day 253 of 730

¹It happened in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to war against it, but could not prevail against it.

²It was told the house of David, saying, "Syria is allied with Ephraim." His heart trembled, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the forest tremble with the wind.

³Then the Lord said to Isaiah, "Go out now to meet Ahaz, you, and Shearjashub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, on the highway of the fuller's field.

⁴Tell him, 'Be careful, and keep calm. Do not be afraid, neither let your heart be faint because of these two tails of smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.

⁵Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have plotted evil against you, saying,

⁶"Let's go up against Judah, and tear it apart, and let's divide it among ourselves, and set up a king in its midst, even the son of Tabeel."

⁷This is what the Lord God says: "It shall not stand, neither shall it happen."

⁸For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within sixty-five years Ephraim shall be broken in pieces, so that it shall not be a people;

⁹and the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If you will not believe, surely you shall not be established.'"

¹⁰The Lord spoke again to Ahaz, saying,

¹¹"Ask a sign of the Lord your God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above."

¹²But Ahaz said, "I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord."

¹³He said, "Listen now, house of David: Is it not enough for you to try the patience of men, that you will try the patience of my God also?

¹⁴Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin will conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

¹⁵He shall eat butter and honey when he knows to refuse the evil, and choose the good.

¹⁶For before the child knows to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land whose two kings you abhor shall be forsaken.

¹⁷The Lord will bring on you, on your people, and on your father's house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria.

¹⁸It will happen in that day that the Lord will whistle for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.

¹⁹They shall come, and shall all rest in the desolate valleys, in the clefts of the rocks, on all thorn hedges, and on all pastures.

²⁰In that day the Lord will shave with a razor that is hired in the parts beyond the River, even with the king of Assyria, the head and the hair of the feet; and it shall also consume the beard.

²¹It shall happen in that day that a man shall keep alive a young cow, and two sheep;

²²and it shall happen, that because of the abundance of milk which they shall give he shall eat butter: for everyone will eat butter and honey that is left in the midst of the land.

²³It will happen in that day that every place where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silver shekels, shall be for briers and thorns.

²⁴People will go there with arrows and with bow, because all the land will be briers and thorns.

²⁵All the hills that were cultivated with the hoe, you shall not come there for fear of briers and thorns; but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of sheep."

¹The Lord said to me, "Take a large tablet, and write on it with a man's pen, 'For Maher Shalal Hash Baz;'

²and I will take for myself faithful witnesses to testify: Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah."

³I went to the prophetess, and she conceived, and bore a son. Then said the Lord to me, "Call his name 'Maher Shalal Hash Baz.'

⁴For before the child knows how to say, 'My father,' and, 'My mother,' the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away by the king of Assyria."

⁵The Lord spoke to me yet again, saying,

⁶"Because this people have refused the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's son;

⁷now therefore, behold, the Lord brings upon them the mighty flood waters of the River: the king of Assyria and all his glory. It will come up over all its channels, and go over all its banks.

⁸It will sweep onward into Judah. It will overflow and pass through; it will reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of its wings will fill the breadth of your land, Immanuel.

⁹Make an uproar, you peoples, and be broken in pieces! Listen, all you from far countries: dress for battle, and be shattered! Dress for battle, and be shattered!

¹⁰Take counsel together, and it will be brought to nothing; speak the word, and it will not stand: for God is with us."

¹¹For the Lord spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying,

¹²"Do not say, 'A conspiracy!' concerning all about which this people say, 'A conspiracy!' neither fear their threats, nor be in dread.

¹³The Lord of hosts is who you must regard as holy. He is the one you must fear. He is the one you must dread.

¹⁴And he will be a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock that makes them fall to both the houses of Israel, for a trap and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

¹⁵Many will stumble over it, fall, be broken, be snared, and be captured."

¹⁶Wrap up the testimony. Seal the law among my disciples.

¹⁷I will wait for the Lord, who hides his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.

¹⁸Behold, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells in Mount Zion.

¹⁹When they tell you, "Consult with those who have familiar spirits and with the wizards, who chirp and who mutter:" shouldn't a people consult with their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living?

²⁰Turn to the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, surely there is no morning for them.

²¹They will pass through it, sore distressed and hungry; and it will happen that when they are hungry, they will worry, and curse by their king and by their God. They will turn their faces upward,

²²and look to the earth, and see distress, darkness, and the gloom of anguish. They will be driven into thick darkness.

¹Praise the Lord, my soul! All that is within me, praise his holy name!

²Praise the Lord, my soul, and do not forget all his benefits;

³who forgives all your sins; who heals all your diseases;

⁴who redeems your life from destruction; who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies;

⁵who satisfies your desire with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

⁶The Lord executes righteous acts, and justice for all who are oppressed.

⁷He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the children of Israel.

⁸The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness.

⁹He will not always accuse; neither will he stay angry forever.

¹⁰He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor repaid us for our iniquities.

¹¹For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his loving kindness toward those who fear him.

¹²As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

¹³Like a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.

¹⁴For he knows how we are made. He remembers that we are dust.

¹⁵As for man, his days are like grass. As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.

¹⁶For the wind passes over it, and it is gone. Its place remembers it no more.

¹⁷But the Lord's loving kindness is from everlasting to everlasting with those who fear him, his righteousness to children's children;

¹⁸to those who keep his covenant, to those who remember to obey his precepts.

¹⁹The Lord has established his throne in the heavens. His kingdom rules over all.

²⁰Praise the Lord, you angels of his, who are mighty in strength, who fulfill his word, obeying the voice of his word.

²¹Praise the Lord, all you armies of his, you servants of his, who do his pleasure.

²²Praise the Lord, all you works of his, in all places of his dominion. Praise the Lord, my soul!

¹My son, pay attention to my wisdom. Turn your ear to my understanding:

²that you may maintain discretion, that your lips may preserve knowledge.

³For the lips of an adulteress drip honey. Her mouth is smoother than oil,

⁴But in the end she is as bitter as wormwood, and as sharp as a two-edged sword.

⁵Her feet go down to death. Her steps lead straight to Sheol.

⁶She gives no thought to the way of life. Her ways are crooked, and she doesn't know it.

⁷Now therefore, my sons, listen to me. Do not depart from the words of my mouth.

⁸Remove your way far from her. Do not come near the door of her house,

⁹lest you give your honor to others, and your years to the cruel one;

¹⁰lest strangers feast on your wealth, and your labors enrich another man's house.

¹¹You will groan at your latter end, when your flesh and your body are consumed,

¹²and say, "How I have hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;

¹³neither have I obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor turned my ear to those who instructed me!

¹⁴I have come to the brink of utter ruin, in the midst of the gathered assembly."

¹⁵Drink water out of your own cistern, running water out of your own well.

¹⁶Should your springs overflow in the streets, streams of water in the public squares?

¹⁷Let them be for yourself alone, not for strangers with you.

¹⁸Let your spring be blessed. Rejoice in the wife of your youth.

¹⁹A loving doe and a graceful deer- let her breasts satisfy you at all times. Be captivated always with her love.

²⁰For why should you, my son, be captivated with an adulteress? Why embrace the bosom of another?

²¹For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord. He examines all his paths.

²²The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare him. The cords of his sin hold him firmly.

²³He will die for lack of instruction. In the greatness of his folly, he will go astray.